Voter turnout of registered voters in New Zealand

New Zealand: Voter turnout of registered voters was 78.2 in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
78.2
Change on year
down 4.9%
World rank
40th
of 166 countries
All-time high
97.6
in 1946
All-time low
60.6
in 1884
Years of data
47
1879–2023

Voter turnout of registered voters in New Zealand, 1879–2023

020406080100187919512023

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

New Zealand recorded 78.2 for voter turnout of registered voters in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.9% on the previous year and up 1.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, voter turnout of registered voters in New Zealand peaked at 97.6 in 1946 and was at its lowest, 60.6, in 1884.

New Zealand ranks 40th of 166 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.

Voter turnout of registered voters in New Zealand, year by year

Annual values for Voter turnout of registered voters in New Zealand, 1879 to 2023.
Year Value Change
1879 66.5
1881 66.5 +0.0%
1884 60.6 -8.9%
1887 67.1 +10.7%
1890 80.4 +19.8%
1893 75.3 -6.3%
1896 76.1 +1.1%
1899 77.6 +2.0%
1902 76.7 -1.2%
1905 83.3 +8.6%
1908 79.8 -4.2%
1911 83.5 +4.6%
1914 84.7 +1.4%
1919 80.5 -5.0%
1922 87.7 +8.9%
1925 90.02 +2.6%
1928 88.01 -2.2%
1931 83.3 -5.4%
1935 90.75 +8.9%
1938 92.9 +2.4%
1946 97.6 +5.1%
1949 97.01 -0.6%
1951 96.21 -0.8%
1954 94.57 -1.7%
1957 93.44 -1.2%
1960 90.26 -3.4%
1963 89.56 -0.8%
1966 86.6 -3.3%
1969 89.88 +3.8%
1972 89.83 -0.1%
1975 83.17 -7.4%
1978 84.9 +2.1%
1981 91.44 +7.7%
1984 93.71 +2.5%
1987 89.06 -5.0%
1990 85.24 -4.3%
1993 85.2 -0.0%
1996 88.28 +3.6%
1999 84.77 -4.0%
2002 76.98 -9.2%
2005 80.29 +4.3%
2008 79.46 -1.0%
2011 74.21 -6.6%
2014 76.95 +3.7%
2017 79.75 +3.6%
2020 82.24 +3.1%
2023 78.2 -4.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1870s 66.5 66.5 66.5 1
1880s 64.73 60.6 67.1 3
1890s 77.35 75.3 80.4 4
1900s 79.93 76.7 83.3 3
1910s 82.9 80.5 84.7 3
1920s 88.58 87.7 90.02 3
1930s 88.98 83.3 92.9 3
1940s 97.31 97.01 97.6 2
1950s 94.74 93.44 96.21 3
1960s 89.08 86.6 90.26 4
1970s 85.97 83.17 89.83 3
1980s 91.4 89.06 93.71 3
1990s 85.87 84.77 88.28 4
2000s 78.91 76.98 80.29 3
2010s 76.97 74.21 79.75 3
2020s 80.22 78.2 82.24 2

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 37 Guinea 78.88 compare
  2. 38 Liberia 78.86 compare
  3. 39 Netherlands 78.3 compare
  4. 41 Panama 77.65 compare
  5. 42 Russia 77.49 compare
  6. 43 Namibia 76.86 compare

See the full ranking of 166 places →

More reference data data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is voter turnout of registered voters in New Zealand?
Voter turnout of registered voters in New Zealand was 78.2 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest voter turnout of registered voters recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 97.6 in 1946.
What is the lowest voter turnout of registered voters recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 60.6 in 1884.
How does New Zealand rank for voter turnout of registered voters?
New Zealand ranks 40th out of 166 countries with data for 2023.
Is voter turnout of registered voters rising or falling in New Zealand?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this New Zealand data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Voter turnout of registered voters. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Voter turnout of registered voters in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/voter-turnout-of-registered-voters/new-zealand/

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About this data

Indicator
Voter turnout of registered voters
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
166 places, 3,355 data points, 1790–2025
Last refreshed